How on earth did you ever get to be 9-years-old. Hell, this blog is older than you!
At any rate — and knowing that one day when you’re old enough to Google your Dad and read all the decidedly nasty things people have written about him (along with the laudatory stuff, which may give you some comfort that you weren’t born of a complete monster), and as a matter of course find this site and its decade of content — I hope you do a search for your own name and find this message: as your father, I couldn’t possibly be any more proud of you. You are a blessing and a constant joy, one of the few humans on the planet that can make me laugh out loud (the rest these days being the cast of “Duck Dynasty”). And I love you, son, more than you will ever imagine.
You are so many things that I’ve tried to be but could never manage: routinely affable, extraordinarily accepting, a natural leader who needs not rely on bluster or polished rhetoric to have people follow him. Those are traits you must have gotten from your mother, god bless her.
Like me, though, you are a loyal friend and you hold yourself to a high set of standards when it comes to those things that interest you most. Right now, that’s Minecraft and Lego building. But here, the content matters less than the form.
Happy 9th birthday, Satch.
And just for you, a birthday haiku:
To everything
there is a season. May yours
be always Summer.
Beautiful! Just friggin’ beautiful!
You dun good, Jeff.
Happy Birthday, Satch! May today be bright and full of fun, love & joy
and lots of cake and ice cream!
Jan 6 is a great day for birthdays (my preggers #1 is 34 today)
Happy Birthday, Satchel! Hope it’s a wonderful day filled with all your favorite things!
Congrats, Darleen!
Jan 6 is a great day for birthdays
It is a great day, just a month early. ;p
Happy Days to all.
Affable, funny, natural leader, athletic, big soulful eyes — the dude’s going to be a total babe magnet in a few years.
That bottom picture of Satch with baby Tanner is my fav. If ever there was a look of wonder and pride all wrapped up in love, that is it.
Jeff, just think, you’ll have been a dad for a decade in just a few short months.
Where does the time go? It seems like it was just yesterday Satchel was heading to kindergarten.
I cut my finger badly on his first day of pre-K, I was so distracted. Can’t believe that was a half-decade ago.
Aww, Satch! You are a charmer. Happy birthday and congratulations on your almost-first-decade.
Happy birthday, Satchel! And congratulations!
They grow up fast, enjoy the moments as they come.
Word.
Happy Birthday, Satch! Have Dad pour you a Scotch on me!
I don’t suspect he’ll need the intertubes to figure that one out.
Was that the epic immersion blender battle? Geez, time flies.
Seconded or is that Double Word?
Mine is now 30 with two daughters of his own. I miss those days but the memories are good too.
For Satchel when he goes walkabout . . . well, y’know, later. In the meantime: Happy Birthday young Mr. Goldstein.
Happy Happy Day son of Issac. ??????? ????????
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Evidently wordpress doesn’t do Hebrew. That should have been Shalom, Mazel Tov.
Jeff …. you and your wife are also to be congratulated today and wished a Happy Birthday. You made him. Happy Birthday, Satchel!
It was indeed, and it was the RD/sinster troll, with that avatar of him I grabbed, shirt half unbuttoned, hair intentionally and methodically “unkempt,” who used to pretend that it was that video I did of cleaning the wound that would give him such pleasure.
Goes around.
Happy Birthday, Master Satchel.
That was the Sadly, No! hipster redneck, right?
Imma get all melancholy ovah heah.
Happy birthday, kiddo! Yes, your daddy really is a crusty, irascible ol’ bastid, but some of us love him for all that. Being inclined that way ourselves and all, don’tchaknow.
Who’s the felon in the top photo with Satch?
If he’s on XBOX Live and needs a Minecraft buddy, my 11 year old will be happy to connect (or is it Kinect?)